- WTI is up 44c to $47.43/Bbl, and Brent is up 36c to $50.65/Bbl
- U.S. shale output is expected to decline by about 136 MBbl/d in January (EIA)
- Output from shale formations is forecast to be around 7.44 MMBbl/d next month, with all seven major shale formations expected to see a decline aside from the Haynesville, which will likely remain flat, according to the EIA
- The Permian is expected to account for the largest decline of the basins, with production expected to fall by 44 MBbl/d to 4.2 MMBbl/d
- China sets a record for daily crude processing for a second straight month (Bloomberg)
- Crude processing was at around 14.26 MMBbl/d last month
- Several Chinese refiners are increasing their processing capacity, while demand has also forced state-run operators to raise refinery run-rates
- OPEC President, Algeria's Energy Minister Abdelmajid Attar, reiterates that OPEC should exercise caution in increasing output
- Attar said there was no guarantee that the cartel would raise output by 2 MMBbl/d by April, as doubts of a quick demand recovery surfaced
- OPEC said in its Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) that demand will rise by 5.9 MMBbl/d to 95.89 MMBbl/d in 2021. Last month, it predicted that next year's consumption would grow by 6.25 MMBbl/d
- The OPEC MOMR that the producer network could incrementally restore that full consignment over the next four months, without pushing world markets back into surplus